A Prayer

Dearest Lord Jesus,

You know her.  You see her.  You hear her.  You love her.

She spent the night in the ER, in the room next to mine.  I listened to her as she tried to explain to her dad on the phone what had happened to her.  She came in by ambulance.  I heard her explain to the nurse how she cut her toe with glass, hurt her knee and shoulder, when she slipped on water on the kitchen floor.

“Dad! Please listen to me!”  I saw her from where I lay in my own bed, through the slight crack in the curtain, as she wiped tears from her eyes.  He had hung up on her.  I could hear her plea as she called him again, “Dad!  I’m trying to tell you what happened to me!  I almost lost consciousness!  Dad?  Dad?”  She put her phone down and I could see her chest rise and fall with deep, painful emotion. 

Soon I could hear her outburst of tourettes and her apologies to those around her.  She tried her dad again.  “Dad, I think Mom is coming to be with me.”  The night went on.  A mother never came.  I heard her tell the nurse once that she believed her shoulder was dislocated, but when she was alone she moved about normally.  Once she lifted her hand to wipe a tear and I saw them.  The scars up her arm.  In that moment her silent cries were deafening.

 I prayed and asked you to give me an opportunity to tell her You love her, but you never did.  I could barely move on my bed for the searing pain in my head.  They had put me in a room with walls and a door, because my pain was so bad, but before they had even brought this woman in I had asked them to please leave my door open.  I really had no reason why I asked them to do that, but now I know why.  You wanted me to see.  To hear.  To feel.  To intercede.

The dad eventually showed up.  “Dad, you should see my toe.”  He ignored her and my husband could see him go to the back corner of the room.  She started to explain what happened and stopped suddenly, “Dad! Please, I just want to tell you what happened to me.”  She suddenly started having tourette’s outburst again and her dad started yelling, “Stop it!  Just STOP IT!”.  “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice quivering,  “I’m so sorry.” 

More silent tears, her chest heaving with emotion.  I longed to get up and tell her she IS loved!  My heart cried for the soul next to me.  That precious, hurting soul.

The pain paralyzed me and earlier I had been pondering why I couldn’t have noticed a rising infection during the day hours, so I could have gone to my doctor instead of the emergency room….but You wanted me there.  At that very moment, at that timing, You wanted me there.  Not because I am good or great or faithful, but because YOU are good and great and faithful.  So, when the bills roll in, we will count it a blessing to have been used by You on this night.  You wanted to use me to intercede and to love someone I do not even know.

I remembered your newest lesson to me these past few weeks and felt you impress them upon my heart.  Prayer is the greatest weapon.  So as I laid there, I watched and I interceded for this young woman.  I, and my family, continue to pray, believing You will show Yourself to her in mighty ways. 

You know her.  You see her.  You hear her.  You love her.

You are God.  You are good.  You are faithful.

I believe You have a plan, and I look forward to and long for the day when I get to see what that plan was….what it is.  Oh that day when our faith becomes our sight!

Until that day, thank you for being faithful to complete Your good work in me.

In Your Holy Name,

Amen.